If you are regular readers, you know I have recently been working on photography for my shop. I've had a lot of help from several sources and I think my photography has improved dramatically. I want to share some of those tips here so that those who are struggling can improve.
#1 - use NATURAL light, but diffuse it somehow. What this often means is photographing during daylight hours (1pm to 3pm is my best time), but don't take the photos in direct sunlight. Try a shady area or photographing inside close to a window. The point here is you want to photograph your work in natural light to show the colors best, but you do not want to wash the color out by shooting in bright direct sunlight.
#2 - If it is a small item, such as jewelry or hairbows, find the macro setting on your digital camera and use it. This setting is specifically designed for close up shots, which you need to show the detail of your items.
#3 - It is very likely that your photographs will need some editing. I am not talking about spending a ton of time on each photograph, but spending a minute or two will have a huge impact. You do NOT have to buy Photoshop or an expensive software program. I use Picassa, which is 100% free. Pay attention to the fill light on your photos, I almost always have to increase mine. This just brightens the overall photograph. Do not be scared to play around with all the settings to see what effect they have.
#4 - Remember to keep your background unobtrusive. This means don't photograph your items on your carpet or really bright backgrounds or wrinkled tablecloths. I try to use light colored scrapbook paper since my items are small.
Before:
After:
See the difference? I spent about 2 to 3 minutes more on the second photograph. The first one was washed out, over lit, and the background was wrinkled and distracting. I like to use books to photograph the whole piece shots of my necklaces. I also take several other shots to post on Etsy. Including at least one close-up on each item.
Also worth considering is NOT using a flash! Some of the "worst" photos that I've seen are ones that are on a carpet/kitchen counter/back of a door/whatever with a bright flash which leaves a lot of dark shadows and other areas over-exposed :)
ReplyDeleteIf you do prefer a lot of editing options and can't afford Photoshop then GIMP is a great (free) alternative. I've never used Picasa so can't compare them, but I've used both Photoshop and GIMP with the same success :)